Aetna agrees to buy Humana in $37B deal
Aetna Inc. agreed to buy Humana Inc., the second-largest provider of private Medicare insurance, for $37 billion in cash and stock to broaden its health-care coverage.
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Familiar culprit holds up Anthem-Cigna merger
Anthem Inc.’s proposed $47 billion buyout of Cigna Corp. is the latest example of corporate deals that get hung up over executive egos and turf battles. For example, Anthem CEO Joe Swedish wants to lead the merged firm, to the chagrin of Cigna’s CEO.
Potential deal drama heats up among five health insurers
The biggest U.S. providers—UnitedHealth Group Inc., Anthem Inc., Aetna Inc., Cigna Corp. and Humana Inc.—are all looking at possible combinations. Indianapolis-based Anthem is considering a takeover of Cigna or Humana, a person familiar with the matter said.
Anthem Obamacare plan backs off ‘narrow network’
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield has added St. Vincent Health to the “narrow network” of health care providers it uses for Obamacare plans.
Health insurers request modest rate hikes
While health insurers in states around the country have proposed large rate increases for the health plans they sell on the Obamacare exchanges, insurers in Indiana are asking for modest increases or even decreases. The bad news is that it appears the rest of the country is just catching up with Indiana’s already-high prices.
Parents of autistic children gird for showdown with Anthem
After an Elkhart couple with an autistic son sued insurer Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield this month, autism families around the state started a campaign to get Anthem to change its policy for covering therapy for school-age children.
Injured diver starts clinic that fills void in therapy
Chris Leeuw opened the doors of the NeuroHope rehab clinic on Feb. 18 to offer patients more time to recover and to help them remain healthy in spite of their immobilizing spinal cord and brain injuries.
Anthem’s IT system had cracks before hack
Anthem Inc. spends $50 million a year and employs 200 people to keep its information technology secure. Yet the Indianapolis-based health insurance giant still left itself vulnerable to hackers on key fronts leading up to the theft of 80 million consumer records.
Lilly sees insurers pushing harder for discounts
Health-coverage managers are becoming more aggressive in demanding discounts and exclusive deals from drugmakers to drive down the cost of medicine, Eli Lilly and Co.’s diabetes business chief says.
Obamacare fees for uninsured kick in with 2014 taxes
Roughly 4 million uninsured people are expected to pay penalties, and 26 million could qualify for exemptions from a list of more than 30 waivers.
Obamacare brings boost to WellPoint
WellPoint’s stock price rose 53 percent from Sept. 30, 2013—the day before the Obamacare insurance exchanges started up—until Dec. 19, 2014, when the price closed at $127.95.
House GOP sues administration over health care law
House Republicans say the Obama administration overstepped its legal authority in carrying out the Affordable Care Act.
UnitedHealthcare to test dominance of WellPoint
After sitting on the sidelines this year, UnitedHealthcare is getting back into Indiana’s individual-insurance game.
Anthem canceling 30,000 individual health policies for Hoosiers
The insurer will not let customers who renewed their pre-Obamacare plans late in 2013 do so again this year. But switching to Obamacare-compliant plans could cause some premiums to spike and provider choice to dwindle.
Hendricks Regional Health dangling 15-percent discounts
Hendricks Regional Health is taking a revolutionary step—at least for the health care industry—by applying the retailer’s playbook. Health care executives say more hospital systems are likely to follow suit in the future.
Hospitals in quest to shrink emergency room visits
Hospitals around the state have been trying to cut emergency room visits—and Obamacare was supposed to help. But the results have been mixed, according to some local hospitals.
Employer clinics are latest health care disruption
The clinics could rearrange the system by forcing price quotes and demanding that providers follow-through.
Health Care & Benefits Power Breakfast transcript
Indianapolis Business Journal gathered leaders in the state's health care and benefits sector for a Power Breakfast panel discussion Sept. 26. The panel discussed disruption of employer clinics, health care spending and more.
Insurer competition stiffens, but tax credits may shrink, on Obamacare exchanges
When Hoosiers start shopping on the Obamacare exchanges again in November, they’ll find new, lower-priced competitors and modest price increases that are much lower than insurers initially proposed. But that doesn’t mean they’ll save money.
Online insurance brokerage sets sights on Indiana
Obamacare could, according to some health insurance experts, cause most small businesses to end their group health plans. Now a new venture-backed company opening up shop in Indiana is trying to make that prediction a reality.